No2!
by Vincere Orbe
Summary: A rumor has started to spread of a second Haru in the Iwatobi High School. But is it even possible to have someone exactly like their special friend of the swim club? Not to mention she's a girl! Haru Gender-bent x Makoto and probably a few other pairings! Rated T just to be safe!
1. Haru no2!

**Summary: A rumor has started to spread of a second Haru in the Iwatobi High School. But is it even possible to have someone exactly like their special friend of the swim club? Not to mention she's a girl! Gender-bent Haru x Makoto and probably a few other pairings! Rated T just to be safe! **

**Hello, Hello! This is the author Vincere Orbe! I want to first thank whoever decided to give this fanfic of mine a try! Ahhh it was so scary uploading my first fanfic but I did it! Just a quick note, this fic occurs just a year after the current storyline in Free! meaning that Haru and Makoto are third years (Blue tie) and Nigasa, Rei, and Gou are all second years (green tie/bowtie)! Hope this doesn't cause too much confusion... But anyways, I hope you enjoy this fanfic!^^**

**Disclaimer!: Free! or the cover image doesn't belong to me!**

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**Chapter 1: Haru no.2~!**

"Miracles... why do they always come out of nowhere..." Gou Matsuoka muttered eyes staring down the white tiles of the school pool.

"Heeiii what miracle? Are you sure you're not seeing ghosts instead Gou-chan?" Nagisa said waving a hand in front of her face snapping out of her daze. The members of the Iwatobi Swim Club gathered around Gou for new instructions, well most of them anyway. A certain blacked haired one still continued to swim with amazing swiftness in the pool.

"Of course not! I swear it was a miracle!" She snapped back at the blond haired boy. "And it's Kou not Gou! It's already been a whole year, get right already!" The blond haired boy just giggled.

"What's the miracle though?" Makoto the one who towered over the group asked in a polite voice.

"I'm really curious too." The blue haired Rei added. Gou looked around carefully and motioned the three to come closer. They leaned in with anticipation.

"Would you believe me if I said I found another Haruka-senpai?" She whispered.

"HAA?!" They yelled in unison. The red haired girl immediately quieted them.

"You mean like someone who swims like him?" Rei asked in a hushed voice.

"No, I meant they were alike in face, the way they walked, everything!"

"Are you sure you're not stretching this? Haru is a bit….. One of kind…." Makoto stated questioningly remembering of all the times where he had to save both Haru and himself from public embarrassment.

"Yeah… Haru-chan is really unique and special." Nagisa muttered looking away.

"No really, if you see her you'll be shocked too!" Gou insisted.

"Her?! A girl Haru-Senpai?!" Rei exclaimed. Gou nodded with a serious expression. They all peeked over at the said boy who was still cutting through the water effortlessly all imagining their own versions of a female Haru.

"How did you meet this second 'Haru' anyways? " Makoto asked.

"Yeah Gou-chan tell us how you met her!" Nagisa pleaded with excitement. Eyes focused on their manager. The red haired girl scratched her head as she began "Well…. It's a bit embarrassing thinking about it now...

* * *

With a cheerful stride Gou strolled through the school hallways holding the newly made banner happily against her. _They won't be able to make fun of my drawings this time! Even the art club was impressed by it!_ She thought smiling. Just as she looked up she caught a glimpse of familiar short black hair. Determined to show off her master piece she jogged towards it.

"Haruka-senpai! I have a new banner made for the swim club!" she called after it. "Haruka-senpai!" The black hair continued bobbing along with the many other heads in the hallway. _He can't hear me…. _She pouted to herself. " Oy~! Haruka-senpai! Wait up!" She cried again weaving through people as quickly as she could. Seeing that the black hair was close to the end of the hallway, out of panic of losing sight of it Gou made a last sprint towards it and clasped a hand tightly on its shoulder. "Haru-senpai wait!" She panted catching her breath.

"Hm? I think you've got the wrong person." A girl's voice said. Gou's head immediately snapped up but only to be met with the familiar face of the water loving Haru she knew, the face wore a puzzled look. Gou glanced around searching for the owner of the voice she had just heard a moment ago. "Is there something wrong?" It was the girl's voice again. Frantically, Gou searched the crowd of people around her again but no one seemed to be directly talking to her. Just then a hand waved across her eyes, it was Haru who was still looking confusedly at her. "You know if you're looking for a Haruka I think I saw her going down the west staircases." Gou watched in amazement as a clear but sweet feminine voice came out of the lips of Haru.

"Hey miss are you-" Just then a group of students knocked into Gou making her to drop the banner from her paralyzed arms. The thud of the banner snapped her out of her daze and she quickly bent down to retrieve it. In front of her skinny legs wearing high knee socks also bent down and thin hands organized the banner back into its folded shape before handing it to her.

"Here." It was that voice again. Gou looked up to meet the face of Haru, but it was smiling this time. She shot up and covered her mouth in shock. Haru's head rose to meet her eye level staring at her oddly. Gou's eyes scanned the Haru that was in front of her frantically. He had high knee socks on with the girl's uniform and a green bow tie to go along with it. Slowly her eyes met with Haru's. But right then she noticed something about them, his eyes weren't its usual aqua blue but a dark purple and his bang's seemed to have grown out a lot even though she had just seen him yesterday. Her eyes shot to the body again, it no longer had the beautiful triceps or muscles she once fawned over. Instead, the shoulders were much too narrow to be a swimmer's and the body carried very feminine curves. She sucked in a breath in realization.

"I'm so sorry…." She muttered behind her hand. "Haru's" face formed into a gentle smile.

"It's alright, but you seem a little pale. Is everything-"Before the other girl could finish her sentence Gou fled the scene in embarrassment.

* * *

"Whoa…. but is it even possible to have a look alike like that?" Nagisa asked.

"I'm not even sure myself…. but to think I would actually mistaken him for someone else..." Gou sighed and ruffled her hair in stress.

"Well, theoretically it's possible since there are so many people in this world. Simple genetics and many other factors can easily produce look alikes! There is a high chance too that you just didn't get to study the face carefully and just assumed it to be the same as Haru-senpai's" Rei explained confidently pushing up his glasses habitually but only to slap his own face before remembering he had taken them off before swimming.

"Maybe… but I'm sure I had a good look at her face."

"Fear and shock might've impaired your judgement as well." The blue haired boy added.

"I guess… but you know Haru-senpai has always been a bit of a pretty boy" Gou mumbled. "AHH! I don't know anymore!"

"It's okay Gou-chan, I'm sure one us will bump into her sometime." Makoto assured.

"Ah! Gou-chan you said that the girl Haru was wearing a green bowtie right? I bet there is a rumor going around that a new transfer student was coming in our grade. Maybe that's her!" Nagisa told the group putting his fist on the palm of his other hand.

"How do you know... and it sounds cliché too..." Rei asked doubtfully.

"Pure intuition!" The blond exclaimed.

"That's not even valid proof!" The blue haired boy retorted. While the two were throwing retorts each other the real Haru stepped towards the group, taking his swimming cap off in the process.

"What's with the commotion?" He asked in an emotionless voice.

"N-nothing…" A collective answer.

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**I hope you enjoyed reading the first chapter of my first fanfic! It's probably a bit rocky and cliché but I promise it won't be like that in my future chapters! ****Suggestions and reviews will be greatly welcomed~! Chapter 2 is up so why not head on over to it? :D **

**-Vincere Orbe**


	2. The number 2 Haru

**So here's Chapter 2 as promised! I'm hoping to make my future chapters a bit longer than this one but it depends ^^lll. But without further a do here's Chap #2! **

**Disclaimer: Free! is not mine! **

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**Chapter 2: The #2 "Haru" **

She took in a deep breath, shook her hands a few times hoping to take away the jitteriness that was eating at her for weeks now. Keeping her face straight she walked through the sliding doors of the classroom. As she traveled to the front desk beside teacher she heard shuffling and whispers spread through the class.

_Yup it's me the "mysterious" transfer student…._ She thought sarcastically. As the teacher introduced her like any other transfer student the bulging eyes that focused on her made her close to running out the classroom and finding the closest trash bin to puke out all of the butterflies in her stomach. She clenched her cold fists at her side to stop them from shaking and kept her face blank, looking above all of her new classmates' heads to the black boards that hung in the back walls.

"Now, transfer student-san why won't you introduce yourself, like name and a personal fact about yourself?" The teacher said smiling kindly. The said girl stared at her for a moment. _Transfer student-san...? _But she noticed the troubled look behind the teacher's smile and sighed inside. _She forgot my name already..__._ Turning to the board, with the least shaky hand manageable she wrote her name. The screeches of the chalk was amplified in the quiet classroom with every stroke as she wrote her surname first. Aki-mo-to Ka-. Her hand stopped in the last couple of strokes to her name. _Come on what are you hesitating for?! They still need to know in the end!_ She scolded herself. Quickly she finished it off, spun herself around and bowed deeply towards the class.

"My name in Kaede Akimoto, please pronounce it as 'Kei-de!'" She announced speedily with her eyes shut. Standing straight again, Kaede fought a war to keep her face straight and look calm. Whispers erupted again.

"Isn't that a name for a guy..." "...And she has such short hair too, poor thing" "She looks like a bishounen!" "Maybe she's a cross dresser!" "Ahh I feel so bad for her…" The whispers "whispered".

_I'm getting so much pity already…._ She thought glumly to herself. _And cross dresser…..? Really?_

"Well, um Akimoto-san, you can sit in the back near the window beside Chigusa Hanamura- san" The teacher announced pointing to the empty seat beside a brunette whose hair was done up nicely into a bun held with a pink rose barrette. Following the direction the finger Kaede shuffled stiffly to her designated seat. As classes began like any normal day, Kaede constantly noticed her neighbor the brunette kept sneaking peeks at her. They didn't seem like curiosity glance but more scrutinizing like she was analyzing Kaede. _Is there something on my face…?_ Kaede wondered to herself cautiously fixing her short but straight black hair. When she caught the girl staring again Kaede gave her a small smile but the brunette blushed and snapped her head back to the front board. _Eh...? Do I... really that much like a guy... _She thought sadly to herself.

But all that was days ago, it turns out her brunette neighbor was a close friend of the red haired girl she encountered during her second day at the school. The two had gone up and chatted with her for a quick moment but ended up stuttering and running away in the end after she smiled while replying them.

_Maybe I had something in my teeth but they didn't need to react so big to it…_ She muttered to herself fixing her bangs again. _Sigh… I shouldn't have cut them shorter_. She thought regretfully, but she couldn't stop getting annoyed with the hairs poking at her eyes mercilessly. But that was really the least of her problems. This Haruka person was very curious. _She must be pretty popular though since so many people keep looking for her. _She thought imagining this Haruka as she strutted through the second years' hallway. _They even gave her nicknames too, what was it that the blondy called her again? Haru-chan?_ Before, Kaede had looked around for someone who resembled her during her strolls around the school but mostly all of the girls she saw had shoulder length hair, past it, or were able to tie them up. Nothing like her boyishly short hair. _But we might have a lot in common if I ever do find her!_ Kaede thought happily to herself. _Maybe she'll-._ Her thoughts were cut short when a large hand pressed on her right shoulder. Turning around she was faced with a towering tall boy with olive brown hair and soft green eyes. Kaede just stared at him silently a bit overwhelmed by his height while the boy looked stunned as if he couldn't believe something.

"H-Haru….?" It was that name again…..

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**End of chapter two! **

**In case anyone was wondering the name Kaede is pronounced as Ka-ei-de, but to make it sound a bit more feminine in Japanese you could pronounce it as Kei-de which kinda sounds like the name Katy! Just a fun fact :)**

**Anyways, hope you liked it and would be great if you could review too! **

**Please look forward to the next chapter! ^^ **


	3. Too Similair!

**Helllio~! Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving! Super thankful to those who took time to read my fic!**

**Sooooo here's ****CHAPTER 3! **

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**Chapter 3: Too Similar! (Yet different...) **

"Mako-chan, do you believe what Gou-chan said about that other Haru?" Nagisa asked as the two lined up on the starting blocks of the school pool ready to start the morning practice.

"I don't think it's impossible." Makoto answered and dove into the fresh morning water. "C-c-cold!"

"Mako-chan you're such a wimp!" The blond boy teased getting in the water as well and splashed the tall boy mercilessly. While a water war was ragging in the lane beside them the ever quiet Haru floated around on the water in utter bliss, pretending he didn't overhear their conversation. It was funny how they never thought twice about how loud they were when speaking of this subject they didn't want him to know.

_Another me..._ He thought as he sunk into the water. The liquid wrapped around him like a protective cocoon, isolating him from the world outside. This person, just how much were they alike? Being an only child he never really thought about someone who could mirror himself with or someone like Makoto's two younger siblings. He was always a bit separated from everyone except for Makoto and them of course but that was another thing. The water stirred around him as the splashing got more intense from the other lane. Coming up for a breath of air, he saw Rei coming or more like swaying towards them. A heavy cloud seemed to hang over the blue haired boy. The splashing stopped as Nagisa greeted Rei.

"Yo! Rei-chan!" No reply. The other boy just kept staring blankly ahead and walked on like a zombie until he stepped into the water and proceeded to drown for a couple a moments before Makoto and Nagisa scooped him up.

"Rei are you ok?" Makoto asked urgently holding the boy up as he coughed while Nagisa hovered around nervously. Bubbling above the surface of the water Haru listened into their conversation. "What's wrong Rei?"

"I-i- it was all so sudden and..."Rei started, his skin was more blanched than normal. "I-I saw... I saw-"

"Saw what? You didn't actually see a ghost did you? WHAT? TELL ME!" Nagisa exclaimed shaking Rei, the curiosity clearly running wild in him.

"It. was. the. second Haru!" Rei said peeling Nagisa away from him.

Makoto breathed out a relieved sigh. "And here I thought our school was haunted for a moment..."

"Hah? Really? When?" Nagisa's eyes sparkled, "Where did you see her?"

"Just before I came here. I had to drop off something at the art club room from the student council and she was just there drawing something." Rei explained. "I called out to her thinking it was Haruka-senpai..." He hid his face in his hand in embarrassment. As Nagisa pummeled Rei with questions Makoto looked over where Haru had surfaced for before. _He definitely overheard it this time..._ Makoto thought worriedly seeing that only traces of ripples were seen in the surface.

Later, after morning practices ended, Haru had disappeared. Since Makoto no longer had morning classes with him it was hard to track where his childhood friend was even if he did know his schedule off by heart. During morning break time Makoto had went back to the pool to see if he had skipped classes to go swim, which wasn't unusual, or anywhere in the school that contained large quantities of water. But his efforts proved fruitless and his worry only worsened especially after Nagisa had crashed into him in the hallway gloomy at first then quickly turned teary eyed saying he wasn't fit of being Haru's friend anymore before running away.

_To think Haru would actually be angry..._ Makoto pondered knowing that Haru was always the level headed type. But now that it was lunch time Makoto was determined to find him and straighten things out. He walked around and peered into classrooms searching for the familiar raven black hair.

"If you're looking for Nanase-kun, I saw him walking towards east staircases." A student in Haru's class advised. Makoto thanked him and briskly jogged in the direction the student had pointed to. It wasn't long before Makoto caught sight of Haru's short straight black hair. Relieved to find him finally, Makoto rushed over to it weaving between people in the crowded hallway. However, as he neared something felt weird about Haru. Reaching a hand out to stop him, as soon as Makoto's hand made contact with the shoulder he felt himself turn cold. _When did your shoulders get to small...?!_ Makoto exclaimed inside. The head of the straight black hair turned around and Haru's face looked up to Makoto. But instead of ocean blue eyes purple ones widened slightly as they met his green ones.

"H-Haru...?" Makoto stuttered. The purple eyes narrowed at the mention of the name and broke their gaze sighing.

"Wrong person, I'm not this Haru you're looking for." She answered a little exasperated and moved Makoto's stiff hand lightly away from her shoulder. "You're the third one today."

"I'm sorry..." Makoto managed to form with his stunned mouth. _I'm sorry Haru... I'm not worthy to be your childhood friend._ Was what Makoto really wanted to say as he apologized inside hanging his head down with a fog of shame and depression above him.

"It's ok. It's happened before anyways." The girl replied evenly staring at him as the weight of the fog grew. Looking up from his cloud, the girl's face was really like a splitting image of Haru except for the color of her eyes. She had the same passive look with thin pressed lips, the short black hair only completed everything.

Seeing that he wasn't going to run away like the others did, the girl fidgeted with her hands for a moment, contemplating inside, before taking in a steady breath. "If you don't mind me asking... This girl, Haruka they keep mistaking me for... Who is she?" She asked.

"Hm?" The girl Haru looked to the right habitually, avoiding Makoto's gaze. Like a hallucination Makoto suddenly pictured Haru in the identical position right beside the girl, both with a hint of embarrassment on their face. The tall boy chuckled a bit to himself seeing the resemblance.

"Haruka is actually a boy." Makoto corrected smiling standing straight again. The purple eyed girl gawked at him speechlessly.

* * *

"Haruka Nanase, is his full name. We've been childhood friends since we were really little." Makoto explained while they wandered through the hallways. "He looks a lot like you as you can probably guess but with blue eyes."

"Is that so?" The girl answered in a passive voice, nodding to herself. Walking beside her, Makoto was still surprised how shockingly she resembled his friend, it felt as if she emitted the same calm aurora as Haru did. But at the same time he could pick out a few differences. First of all she was shorter than Haru, she barely reached Makoto's shoulder while Haru went up to his eyes. Her eyes were especially different as he noticed before. Although they had the similar shape to Haru's and deep depth to them they were ornamented with longer lashes making them more feminine and something else that Makoto couldn't quite put his finger on. Unexpectedly, the violet eyes suddenly turned to meet his causing something inside him to stir uncomfortably.

"You said that I was the third one that had mistaken you for Haru. Did you know who they were?" Makoto asked looking away, hoping to ease the awkwardness inside him a bit.

"Oh those two? They were both guys in my grade as far as I know." She recollected. "If I remembered right, one had blue hair and red glasses and the other was a short blond." Hearing the description Makoto knew for sure it was Rei and Nagisa.

"Did they say anything to you?"

"Well... they both turned really pale when they saw me... and you did the same thing too. This Haruka person, he's alive right?" She asked seriously with worried eyes.

"Yeah... He's definitely alive" Makoto assured her a bit taken aback.

"That's good. The blond boy that came up to me looked scared out of his life and muttered something like an apology to Haruka-san before running away." _No wonder why Nagisa looked so depressed... He must've felt guilty for mistaking someone else as Haru._ Makoto thought pitying the boy, but then again he did the exact same thing as well.

"And also, sorry if I'm being nosy but, what were you looking for this Haruka-san for?" She asked is a polite voice.

_ I totally forgot about it...! _"I was looking for him actually, he kinda of disappeared on me in the morning..." Makoto stated feeling another wave of shame come across him.

"If that's the case then I shouldn't bother you. I have something to do in the art room anyways." The purple eyed girl stated in a light voice. She bowed slightly and started to walk away.

" Wait! I forgot to ask you for your name since you're obviously not Haru." Makoto called catching up to her.

"Ah! I should've introduced myself earlier. I'm Kaede Akimoto, hajimeimashite (nice to meet you)" She introduced herself, bowing again.

"That's a really nice name." He commented. She smiled at the compliment even though she knew it was on the whim and waved good bye before leaving while Makoto stood there held in place. Maybe it was the shock of seeing a smile being pasted on Haru's face for what seemed like eons of time ago, but he felt strangely lighthearted when he saw it.

Just then a hand tapped on his shoulder. "Makoto!" Haru's voice floated into his head making him jump into the air. His childhood friend stared at him oddly.

"Haru?! Where were you?!"Makoto demanded clasping his hands on the other boy's shoulder.

"Eating lunch like a normal person, where were you?" Haru retorted. Makoto went speechless momentarily, unable to counter it.

"I was... actually just talking to 'you'." He began after recollecting himself. "Did you know there's someone..." Haru let him drone on repeating things he already knew from eavesdropping as they walked back in the direction he came from. While Makoto chatted beside him unknowingly Haru peered back in the other direction catching a small glimpse his own head weaving through the hallway.

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**I'll try to update probably at least once a week or biweekly! But really I hope to be updating as often as possible! **

**Happy Thanksgiving everyone to those who celebrated it! ^^ And... **

**Read and Review too maybe? :D **


	4. Rushing to Doodling

**Hellloooo~! Sorry for the late(-ish) update! Without wasting anymore time on comments... **

**Here's Chapter 4!**

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Chapter 4: Rushing to Doodling

Flying down the school stairs Kaede's cell phone vibrated in the pocket of her blazer again. Nearly dropping the device, she flipped the blue phone open while fumbling to change out of her indoor shoes. Her eyes skipped quickly through the message lit brightly on its screen.

"Onii-chan (older brother) why aren't you answering meeee, come home quickly it's an emergency!"

Worry and haste spread through her veins as her fingers clicked at the phone speedily not even noticing a shadow had casted over her until she charged into its owner. She stumbled back a few steps wincing holding her nose where the impact of the contact hit the hardest.

"Are you alright?!" A voice immediately asked. Sounding familiar to the ear Kaede looked up.

"Ah! You're that tall senior from yesterday!" Kaede exclaimed rubbing her sore nose looking up to his gentle green eyes.

"Yeah that's me..." He replied rubbing the back of his head. "How's your nose Kaede-san? I never thought you would come charging at me..."

"Hehehe... sorry about that... and my nose's fine, not bleeding or anything but thanks." She answered accepting a tissue from the brunette.

"Why are you here so late by the way? Most of the students already left already."

"I was getting something from the art room. It just took bit longer with the art club people there..." Kaede told him looking away slightly remembering how they clung onto her for dear life. "What about you? Why are you still here?"

"I'm here for practice." He announced brightly. "I'm part of the swim club in the school actually."

"Swim club...?" Kaede repeated to herself. Just then she remembered Chigusa, the bun wearing brunette who sat beside her in class, had mentioned something about the swim club in their school and how they were able to get into the regionals last year despite being a new team.

"You should come join the club! We're always looking for new members!" He insisted. "Actually, Har-"The ring of Kaede's cell phone cut the tall boy off. Fumbling to get her phone out Kaede dropped her school bag with its contents falling out. The olive haired boy knelt down to help her collect them while she read the text hastily.

"KAEDE! WHERE ARE YOU?!" It read.

"I'm sorry. I have to go home like this instant." Kaede explained hastily brows furrowing with worry. Swiftly Kaede swept up her remaining stuff and rammed them into her bag and shot out of the school main doors only to stop abruptly to turn around to see the tall boy still kneeling where she was a moment ago.

"The swim club thing... I'll think about it!" She shouted, waved quickly before sprinting off again. Makoto waved back smiling kindly although he wasn't sure if she saw it. But just then he noticed that he still held a thin rectangular cloth pouch belonging to purpled eyed girl. He rushed outside hoping to catch up but the school grounds and the roads around it were empty.

_She's sure quick..._ Makoto thought to himself. Feeling the long grey pouch in his hand, he felt something thin and round inside. Out of curiosity, he snapped opened the cloth pouch and peered inside.

"Paint brushes?"

* * *

"Miwa! I'm hoooome! Is everything alright? Where's mom, did anything happen to her?" Kaede yelled slamming the front door of her house behind her. Down the entrance hallway a door slowly creaked open and a small figure with hair covering its face and a camera around its neck came out. "Oy, Miwa if you're going to practice for a part in a horror movie do that at a haunted house or something."

"I'm not practicing for anything, Kaede onii-chan's just a scardy cat. Mom's upstairs taking a nap so lower your voice. " Miwa said and tucked some of her black hair away reveling violet eyes similar to her sister's.

"Will you quit it with the onii-chan this onii-chan that already... It's onee-san (older sister) for the last time... People outside will think you're stupid or undereducated if you use the wrong honorific." Kaede scowled. She walked over and stopped momentarily by altar in the living room greeting silently to the brightly smiling figure in the picture. _Otou-san (Dad) I'm home_. Behind her Miwa kept repeating "Onii-chan, onii-chan, onii-chan," endlessly as Kaede headed to the kitchen.

"Seeing that you can still joke around there wasn't really an emergency was there?" Kaede sighed in exasperation and poured herself a cold glass of water.

"There is, I'm out of print paper for my pictures." Miwa said pointing to the ever present camera that hung around her neck.

"I'll get some for you tomorrow." Kaede said, dismissing the issue easily and took a sip from her glass.

"Oh and we're completely out of mackerel too." Miwa added. Keade slammed her glass down and swung open the fridge inspecting the contents. After searching, counting and recounting over and over again Kaede finally gave up in finding the said food. _Hai... there goes my breakfast and lunch for tomorrow..._ She muttered to herself sulking against the counters. "You don't have to look so depressed, it's just fish you can go catch some yourself in the ocean later." Miwa said.

"Very funny, why won't you go fishing for some ice cream when we run out next time? It'll save me the trip to the store." Kaede skipped upstairs before her little sister could come at her with whatever was closest to her, which were knives.

After a quick change of clothes, Kaede went back down opened a door beside the one her sister had emerged from before in the entrance hallway. Upon entering it, the pungent smell of paint engulfed her. She welcomed the toxic smell happily, even taking a huge gulp of it knowing she was shortening her life. The room wasn't big but it was enough to hold a painting easel, a chair, a drawer full of paint, canvases of all sized, and a giant window with the best view of the sea nearby. Kaede pulled on an apron and slumped into the paint splattered chair. Instantly she was completely relaxed and mellow. Grabbing a brush and squirted some paint on a makeshift palette she fashioned, she continued with the painting she had started yesterday, a self portrait, well sort of anyways. Getting tired of just picturing her twin she thought it would be fun to put it onto paper just for the heck of it. Constantly, she looked over to the small mirror she had placed on the bench beside the easel as she finalized some of the portrait's detail. Everything was coming out nicely until it was time to finish the eyes, especially the pupils.

_I'm pretty sure he said that Haruka had blue eyes..._ Kaede tried to recall. Going along with the idea she mixed a random color of blue and applied it onto the drawing. Leaning back a bit, she inspected her work. _... why does it look so awkward... _She frowned and tried using a different shade of blue, lighter this time_. Something's still off..._ Kaede tsked in annoyance. _Maybe a wider jaw or thicker brows since he's a guy..._ After some time of changing this and that she leaned back to inspect it again but burst into a muffled laugh.

"He looks like a yankee or a gangster!" She laughed louder at the realization. The brows had the width a of a caterpillar, lips were too full, and a jaw so rough it looked nothing like Kaede anymore all she probably needed was to add a scar and it would looked like a mug shot. After her little fit she turned the "self-portrait" around and slumped back on her chair. _If only I could've asked more about him from his friend_. She thought leaning her head_._ Thinking back on it the tall olive haired boy seemed gentle and kind much like his voice, he probably won't mind if she asked a few questions_. Soft green eyes, a gentle smile, tall but not too skinny of a build and nice hair he's like those perfect onii-chan types in manga and dramas...Gah! Thinking about it now I never got his name! _She realized feeling with a bit of shame sinking in. _But of all clubs he just had to be in the swim club... if it was track I could at least given it a try._

"Kaede what were laughing about earlier? I have the pictures you wanted!" Miwa announced suddenly behind Kaede causing her to jump out her seat. "Onii-chan, you weren't thinking about guys again were you?" Miwa's eyes narrowed and a sly smile spread across her face.

"Was not!" She lied. Miwa's smile got bigger and handed Kaede a white envelope.

"They're exactly what you requested."Miwa stated proudly. Flipping through them Kaede's face lit up in awe. The photos were all perfect shots of the setting sun reflected on the water setting off spectrums of light.

"Waahh so pro! They're all so amazing! It's like a miracle for these to even be on a picture!" Kaede commented.

"You know... you should go yourself some time." Miwa suggested looking at her sister intently, "Sometimes the real thing is a lot better than just pictures" Catching her little sister's stare, she filed the pictures back into the envelope.

"I'll... find some time since it's so close anyways." Kaede replied avoiding her sister's gaze. "Let's go make dinner now before it gets too late."

"You better..." Her little sister muttered.

* * *

"Hey Kaede do you have anything after school today?" Gou asked brightly. Kaede was finishing up packing her stuff for the end of the day when the marooned haired girl had bounced up to Kaede's desk wearing her gym shorts and a bright yellow t-shirt.

"Not really... why?" Kaede replied and reached under her desk for a black recyclable bag that carried various art supplies.

"Perfect, you're coming with me!" Gou grabbed the purple eyed girl by the arm and proceeded to drag her out the classroom. "Chigusa put her bags somewhere safe!"

"Roger!"

"Wait! Where are we going though?" Kaede exclaimed.

"To the Iwatobi Swim Club!"

"S-swim club...? Chigusa-chan, help me!" Kaede called out in panic to her brunette neighbor, but the bun-haired girl only smiled and waved. _Otou-san... your daughter is being kidnapped (?!)_

* * *

**I'll be posting up chap 5 reeeeallll soon, already have half of it written out. Half the reason why it took me a while to post this chapter up :p **

**Chap 5 will be up ASAP! :D**


	5. The Twin has a Medusa Smile!

**So um... This chapter was planned to be uploaded last Monday... yeah that never happened... Sorry about that... ._. **

**As soon as last Saturday hit my whole schedule was thrown out the window, revived momentarily only to crash, explode, and burn for the rest of the week... **

**Yeah it wasn't pleasant at all I can tell you...**

**Hope the longer than usual chapter makes up for the wait! Once again super sorry for not keeping my promise in the last update! **

**Anyways... Here's Chap 5!**

* * *

**Chapter 5: The Twin has a Medusa Smile!**

"Ne, Mako-chan don't you think Gou-chan's taking a little too long just to get something?" Nagisa asked pushing down on Rei's shoulders helping him stretch.

"Yeah...She's sure taking her time."Makoto replied looking towards the entrance to the pool. "I wonder what came up..."He trailed off as a loud rumbling of feet was heard coming from the lockers. Quickly emerging from it was Gou's bright red hair.

"Yo Mina-san (everyone)! Look who I brought!" Gou announced to the group happily dragging someone behind her as she charged towards them. Kaede's balance gave out the instant her foot hit the slippery tiles of the pool. Her legs criss-crossed and tangled with one another, nearly tripping her in the process until she came to a shaky stop beside the proud faced Gou. She breathed a relieved sigh thanking all the deities in the world for managing not to face plant.

"Kaede-san, are you alright...?" Makoto asked with is arms half extended. Beside him Nagisa's eyes were widened 3 times their size and sparkled like someone had poured a basket of glitter on them while Rei, with his glasses askew on his face, turned pale.

"Yeah... I'm fine." Kaede answered a little winded.

"Eh?! You know each other?!" Gou exclaimed.

"More or less... We bumped into each other the other day." Kaede explained catching her breath. "Actually... I've met all of them before..." She added recognizing Nagisa and Rei as she straightened up. Nagisa laughed half heartedly while Rei looked away with a hint of red of his face

"Geez, that ruins all the fun... " Gou pouted. "You guys should've told me that you saw her! Now I look like a complete idiot getting all worked up..."

"It's okay Gou... " Kaede comforted her "kidnapper". "I don't even know their names-"

"So your name's Kaede?" Nagisa suddenly asked with his eyes sparkling coming right up to her face.

"Yeah... It's Kaede Akimoto please pronounce it as Kaide..." Kaede said leaning back bit. _Wasn't he that kid who looked like he just met a ghost when he saw me...? _She thought aside.

"It sounds like a name for the main guy lead of a manga!" He complimented brightly. Kaede's mouth twitched in annoyance at the comment.

"Thanks..."

"Mine's Nagisa Hazuki!" The boy announced. "And this megane beside me is-"

"I'm Rei Ryugazaki" The blue haired boy cut him off and pulled Nagisa back to give Kaede room to breathe again.

"I'm Makoto Tachibana, sorry I never got to introduce myself earlier." He smiled.

"And I'm their manager! All their names are so girly aren't they?" Gou commented in a teasing voice. Kaede nodded with "please switch names with me!" written all over her face.

"Say Kaede-chan what's your favorite color?" Nagisa asked popping back into the conversation.

"Blue...why-"Kaede started but was cut off by another question.

"How about favorite food?"

"F-fish like mackerel and stuff-"

"Favorite fruit?"

"Pineapples..."

"Will you eat them together?" Kaede looked at the blondy oddly. "Will you?" The pink eyed boy insisted

"I wouldn't mind it..."

"What's wrong with eating them together?" Everyone flinched at the sound of Haru's voice while Kaede gawked in complete shock and disbelief as a mirror image of herself in swimming jammers walked over_._ _Th-this has got to be some kind of joke...?!_ Kaede exclaimed to herself as the boy came closer. Haru stopped in front her and looked down while she did the vice versa, both studying each other's features. The others huddled together watching in awe as the two stared down at one another.

_Is this the person they were talking about..?_ Haru muttered to himself.

_Uwah...! They were actually serious about him being a copy!_ Kaede exclaimed inside but fought hard to keep a calm demeanor outside.

_Tomboy._

_What a pretty boy. _

"You look like a boy/girl." They said together. Kaede's eye twitched and Haru pursed his lips. An electricity filled aurora grew and floated over the group. The others shrank as the tension between their gazes grew. A mental war seemed to rage between the two until eventually Haru broke off the glare.

"I'm going back." Haru announced stalking off.

"Maa Haru-chan stay for a bit! You two just met each other!" Nagisa persuaded pulling the black haired boy back placing him to the left of Kaede.

"Putting them beside each other makes the resemblance is almost overwhelming..." Gou muttered.

"We don't look alike!" The two mirror images retorted in unison. Instantly the heavy aurora came back. _They even lied in unison..._ The others thought to themselves.

"Why won't we do some kind of questioning game? I'm sure we'll find stuff that you guys don't have in common." Makoto suggested seeing that the atmosphere wasn't going to improve. "I'm sure we all have a lot of things we would like to ask, right?"

"Rei! Go get a note book!" Nagisa ordered his blue haired blue companion. Gou immediately handed her notebook that kept track of the groups training regimens.

"Okay, so far they both like the color blue, their favorite foods are the same too!" The blond boy recollected to the madly scribbling Rei. _All of that was the same?!_ Kaede thought in surprise. "Ah! They both have really weird tastes buds too!" _How can you judge that?! _

"Alright me first!" Gou declared which was followed by the protests from Nagisa that she ignored and swatted his face away. "What are your names?"

"Haruka Nanase" "Kaede Akimoto"

"That's such a useless question..." Rei muttered under his breath but was instantly silenced by a death glare from the red head.

"Next question! What are your favorite colors?" Nagisa asked.

"You just asked that!" Rei pointed out.

"Doesn't hurt to ask again!"

"Ah! How about favorite food?" Gou interjected.

"Think of some other questions!" Rei exclaimed.

"What's your favorite fruit?" Makoto questioned seriously.

"NOT EVEN YOU TOO MAKOTO SENPAI!" Rei hollered. As the group argued over the questions Kaede snuck a peek to her left. _He sure seems calm and unfazed by all this... _She noted to herself. The guy copy of her kept a straight almost bored kind of face while she was still to wrap her head around the recent revelation. _I guess I was the only one who was really curious about all this..._She sighed.

"I'm asking the questions from now on!" Rei declared pushing through the group ignoring the other's complaints. "First question, what are your hobbies?"

"Water." Haru replied

"Drawing." Kaede answered

The others "ohh-ed" at their different responses. Rei smiled confidently and pushed up his glasses continuing.

"Best subject?"

"Art." Haru said,

"Art and Literature." Kaede said.

"Worst?"

"English." "English..." They both answered.

"That's all I have." Rei concluded closing the notebook in his hand.

"Ha? That was only three questions!" Gou complained. "I thought you had a list of genius questions or something!"

"It's okay! I just came up with a really good idea." Nagisa suggested stopping the fight before it could start again. The four huddled away, discussing something. Haru stared off into space wondering when he could get back into the water while Kaede just stared at the foursome weirdly and slightly concerned with what they were plotting.

Suddenly they all turned around and walked towards the look-a-likes. Nagisa signaled a "1-2-3" and all four shouted "Smile!" with their both of their second finger pointing to their grins. Flustered and not expecting it, Kaede copied them hastily and smiled as bright as she could. The notebook in Rei's hand dropped to the tiles with a loud flop. Seeing the group's dumbfounded and astonished looks on their faces Kaede reclined her grin. She stared at the four oddly, confused. Nothing on them moved as if they had turned to stone. Then she glanced at her mirror image to see him with his eyes closed and a sigh of exasperation coming out with nothing close to a smile on him.

"Eh...? Was I not supposed to smile?" Kaede asked puzzled. Suddenly, Gou went up to her and grabbed her hands.

"No, please always smile like that in front of us. ALWAYS" She told her in a serious tone.

"O-okay..." Kaede nodded. Nagisa picked up the fallen notebook scribbled something into it and slammed it back to Rei before walking over to the pool. _ Did I say something wrong...?! _Kaede asked inside confused as the group dispersed. Hearing another sigh beside her, Haru placed a gentle hand on her shoulder but didn't meet her eyes before leaving for the pool as well. _" You'll catch on..."_

* * *

For the rest of the practice, unable to leave or comprehend her situation Kaede sat on the shaded benches near the entrance to the change rooms. Hiding it well, inside Kaede was wrestling the disbelief about the fact she had actually someone who was alike if not a copy of her own face. Secretly, she really hoped that everything was just an exaggeration but of course all of that hope evaporated away now._ Otou-san... did you have an illegitimate kid you never told us about...?_ Kaede asked mentally. She hugged her knees against herself and quietly observed the practice. It wasn't like she was checking them out or anything unlike the sparkling Gou who stood beside her oogling at the biceps and muscles. But she would be a lying if she said that all four of them didn't have amazingly toned bodies.

_They would be good models if I ever need to draw dynamic movements._ Kaede thought to herself technically watching powerful strokes cutting into the water one after the other. As the water flew in the air glistening in the light Kaede eyes shone in awe and complete admiration. The movement of water as it bent around them while they swam, the brief moments where the water was suspended in the air from the kicks, the beautiful disturbance in the water all had Kaede's hand twitching for a pencil and her sketch book. Especially her new found twin swam with amazing fluidity and intensity to the extent it almost seemed like its own kind of art. _Ahh if only the humidity didn't come with it all!_ Kaede thought to herself clasping her hands over her hair, already feeling frizz starting to form. The sound of the whistle snapped her out of her dilemma as the Gou reeled the four girly named boys in for the end of practice, handing them towels as they came over.

"Kaede-chan let's all walk home together! I thought of so many things to ask you while I was swimming!" Nagisa beamed plopping down beside her, still dripping wet.

"Is that so...?" She replied half smiling shifting away, curling herself up even tighter to avoid the droplets that hung in the boy's blond strands.

"Nagisa you shouldn't pester people so much, especially when you've just met them." Rei scolded.

"Rei-chaaaann you sound like my mom~~! Aren't you curious too?!" Nagisa whined tugging at the blue haired boy's arm.

"Yeah who do you think you are bossing us around all the time?! We're technically the same age you know!" Gou complained. "Plus its Kaede's decision in the end!" The three started to argue again. Behind the chaos Kaede chuckled to herself quietly.

"It's alright, I usually walk alone anyways. Let's walk home together!" Kaede smiled.

* * *

_Let's never walk home together again, _**_EVER_**. Kaede thought to herself waving to the blond haired boy as he was pulled towards the station by Rei and Gou. Between the short time it took for them to walk from the school to the station she swore that kid asked her at least 50 questions.

"Sorry you had to go through that Kaede-san..." Makoto apologized. "Nagisa can be really chatty sometimes." _Chatty is an understatement!_ Kaede said to herself.

"It's ok... " Kaede muttured in a drained voice. "I'm going to head home now. I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Which way are you walking?" Makoto asked.

"That way. What about you guys..." She trailed off realizing she was pointing to the road her twin was already strutting down.

"Guess we're walking together." The tall boy smiled. Kaede sighed._ I should've known..._

The threesome walked in complete contrast to the loud and boisterous atmosphere when they were still a big group. Kaede followed stiffly beside the close childhood friends. Truthfully the shock never left her and that her new found twin happened to be only an arm's length away. The fact that he doesn't seem too amused with her being around wasn't helping. _When are they going to turn...?_ She said to herself as the awkwardness continued to eat at her as they passed another cross road.

"So... uh Kaede-san, I never knew you walked the same way as us." Makoto said trying to strike up a conversation with the mirror images he walked between.

"Yeah... I didn't know either." She answered half muttering. _Yeah I also never knew that it was possible for someone to have the same face, hair, looks, not be related genetics wise, and be an opposite gender version of yourself all at the same. _

"Haru and I always walk home together. You should join us, right Haru?" Makoto nudged the skinny boy.

"Yeah" He replied flatly.

"I go to art club all the time so I never know when I'll go home..." Kaede answered trying to be as nonchalantly hearing her twin's tone.

"Ah... is that so..." The tall boy mumbled. Looking to his left and right the two mirrors wore the same stoic face staring at the ground, lips closed together not letting any of their thoughts escape. _They're so tense... _Makoto sighed to himself.

"Ne Haru-"

"See you tomorrow Makoto" Haru cut him off walking up the stone steps that lead to his house.

"Uh yeah... See you tomorrow..." Makoto replied waving a bit as his childhood friend disappeared from view. Kaede looked up to stay bye as well but her mirror image was already gone from sight.

"Is he angry at me? Why won't he make any expressions?" Makoto voiced Kaede's thoughts who a hand on her chin as the two continued to walk down the road.

"Heh?! How did you know I was-?!" She flinched.

" It was a wild guess...I didn't think it would actually be right..." Makoto stated . _So you can read the both of them the same way..._ He noted to himself, a bit embarrassed scratching the side of his head.

" But do you think he's angry at me or something?" She asked brows furrowing.

"You mean Haru?"

"He doesn't seem all too happy with me around... Did I say or do anything wrong that annoyed or made him uncomfortable?"

"Ma... I wouldn't say you didn't do anything that didn't make everyone uncomfortable... But although it doesn't seem like it he's pretty shocked about you himself. It's just a bit hard for him to express it." Makoto stated. _Yeah he's sure bad at it..._ Kaede thought to herself sarcastically.

"Haru's an only child you know. Ever since he was small his parents weren't home often so he always seemed a bit lonely and wasn't really good at socializing with people either. His weird personality made it worse too." The tall brunette chuckled to himself and looked up to the sky. "Thinking about it now back then the only thing that mattered to him was swimming and water. But I don't think that's changed much." He smiled again at the thought. Kaede watched the boy quietly while he recollected his childhood memories with Haru. Eventually, Makoto caught her stare. She looked away instinctively and turned to the ocean that spanned across the large beach to the left of the path they were on. The waves crashed down on the sand and rocks sending sprays of water in all directions.

"Sorry if I'm rambling too much." He apologized seeing her eyes dim a bit just like Haru did whenever he seemed a bit detached from the world.

"No not at all!" Her eyes blinked backed to reality. "I was just thinking Haruka-san sure is lucky to have a childhood friend so fond of him. I'm jealous!" The purple eyes were filled with earnest as she talked.

"Say Kaede-san do you have any siblings?"

"Hm? I do actually, I have a little sister whose in middle school right now." She replied, her eyes lighting up at the topic. "Since we just moved here I usually walk her to her school first before heading over to ours in the morning since they are close. It's probably why I never see you guys walking together."

"That's probably the reason. I think I went to that middle school too. Thinking about it now brings back some memories too... Ah! I almost forgot!" They stopped their steps as she stared in curiosity as the tall boy searched through his pack for something. Suddenly in his hand was a familiar grey rectangular packet.

"My brushes!" Kaede exclaimed recognizing it.

"You dropped them when you were rushing to leave the other day." He explained handing the cloth packet to her.

"Thanks! I totally forgot about them until now! They were just a few spare brushes I had that I lent to the art club." She thanked smiling and placed them into her bag.

Makoto mirrored her. A little ahead of them two heads, one brown and one a darkish green came bobbing towards them, both of them wore matching pants and bright hoodie. As they came closer Kaede could see the one with darkish green hair was a little girl and had small pigtails in her hair while the other was a boy who had an out grown mushroom cut.

"ONII-CHAN! YOU'RE FINALLY BACK!" The green haired little girl called crashing into Makoto's outstretched arms while the other ran straight to an astonished Kaede and hugged her legs tightly.

"Haru-nii chan's here too! Are you going to play video games with us again?" The little boy asked her looking up beaming. "Eh? Haru-nii chan why are you wearing a skirt today?" The little boy tilted his head in question innocently.

"Sorry but I'm not Haru..." Kaede said as lightly as she could. Immediately the boy let go of her, his faced paling in realization and his little figure shock. _It's that look again... _Kaede thought sadly to herself.

"Ren, this is Kaede Akimoto, she and her family just moved here recently. Say hi." Makoto explained to his little brother.

"H-h-h-h-h-h-hi..." The boy's word shook as much as his little body did.

"It's nice to meet you Ren-chan." Kaede said smiling gently. Instead of a reply, his shaking completely stopped and froze with a look of complete horror pasted on him. _I really should stop smiling shouldn't I...?_ Kaede noted to herself a bit hurt.

"Is she Haru-nii chan's twin like Ren and I?" The little girl in Makoto's arms asked staring at Kaede with large green eyes that matched her brother's.

"Well... technically they aren't... they're just two people who happen to look alike." Makoto tried to explain, his sister stared in confusion. "I'll explain it better to you two some other time..." He lightly tapped the petrified Ren, reviving him. The little boy fled and clung to Makoto's leg. "I'm sorry... it's a bit hard for them to take in..."

"It's ok." Kaede replied. _I'm getting used the reactions..._ She thought to herself looking away. "But I never thought you had siblings and two of them too."

"Yeah, they're fraternal twins actually. They're still in elementary school but graduating soon." He said ruffling the twins' hair. Kaede stifled a laugh at the sight. "Hm?"

"It's nothing, I just thought they resembled you a lot." She commented.

"We get that a lot, don't we?" He said to the twins and stood up holding each of their hands, towering above the two.

"I gotta head home now, I'll see you tomorrow." Kaede said checking her phone for the time. "Let's talk a bit more next alright?" She directed to the twins crouching down. The two nodded stiffly.

"Do you want me to walk you home?" Makoto asked out of politeness.

"It's alright my house is just a bit pass the next block." She replied and waved good bye to the Tachinbana siblings. After passing a few houses Kaede let the laugh she had held back before out. . _He really is like those onii-chan types_. She chuckled to herself. _A mirror, an person who stepped straight from a manga, and three clowns, what kind of a group have I gotten myself into Otou-san?_ Kaede smiled and stared up to the sky that was waning to night.

* * *

"Kaede-chan! Look over here!" Nagisa shouted from the pool. The blond boy did a back flip in water splashing Rei who was only a little ways away.

"That was awesome Nagisa-kun! Keep it up!" Kaede called back her hand speedily sketching details of the splashes of the water that flew through the air. Smiling to herself she felt accomplished to get so many sketches down of the ever dancing water as she looked over the good handful of pages she filled in the ancient sketchbook that was coming apart.

_I'm glad I had my stuff all ready before Gou came and kidnapped me again today_. She thought smugly as she continued to scribble into her book. Looking up, her eyes searched for her new found twin who swam like it was no effort and fluidity Kaede had never seen before. It was like the water embraced him as soon as he touched it. _Where did he go...?_ She looked around the pool still searching. _Did he go under?_

"You should leave some more places unshaded near the top and make the placement of the water drops less linear." Haru suggested beside her, pointing to one of the sketches. She jolted a bit at his sudden close proximity to her but took his advice. Immediately the droplets of water seemed to become even more real on the pages. Her eyes brightened in amazment.

"Thanks!-"The sound of splashes of Haru jumping into the pool covered over her words. She sighed to herself a bit annoyed.

"Whoa those are really good sketches." Gou commented right beside her ear suddenly making Kaede jump again.

"T-thank you..." She replied a little irritated. "Haruka-senpai helped me a bit."

"The water is all so realistic! I thought you were drawing their chiseled muscles or something." Gou's eyes seemed to shine on the word "muscles"_. I'm not a female pervert like you_... Kaede whispered inside.

"But you know Haru-senpai is a really amazing artist! The art club actually stalked and tried dragging him to their club a few times already!" Gou stated. _Those guys sure are desperate for members..._ Kaede muttered remembering how sticky that group was. "Ah also you know the Iwatobi-chan that we have on our team uniforms is designed by him!" It took Kaede a few moments to figure out what she talking about.

_Wait! That weird bird thingy wearing a speedo was drawn by him...?!_ Kaede thought feeling her respect for him drop a bit. Gou's phone suddenly rang notifying her of a text and she turned around tapping rapidly on it for nth time Kaede had seen her do today.

_Wonder who's she texting..._ Kaede mused seeing the maroon haired girl's serious face as she typed a reply. During the whole practice Gou was on and off her phone, switching between drooling over the boy's muscles and whoever she was messaging.

Turning around again, Gou blew the whistle for the boys to take a break. Taking a few of the towels she headed towards the pool edge handing one to Haru as he got out. Hesitant at first, Kaede followed the red haired girl's lead with her sketchbook clutched tightly in her hand and a towel. Cautious with her every step to not slip she headed over to where Makoto was climbing out from the pool.

"Thanks." He said as she handed him the towel.

"No problem." Kaede smiled but quickly straightened her expression remembering how everyone froze from it.

"AH! Nagisa- kun don't run!" She heard Rei's voice call.

Before she could see it she felt the impact as the blond boy ploughed into her. Kaede felt her body lose its balance and suddenly her view became nothing but the blue sky. A feeling of daze and shock drowned over making her unable to react. Next thing she felt was a hard blow to the back of her head. For a moment the blue skies turned black with weird white dots sparkling all over the black screen. She felt herself sit up on the cold tiles of the pool edge with a hand pressed against where the impact was on her head. Hissing from the pain she opened her eyes which became blurry, probably from the hit. Around her she heard frantic voices shouting which weren't helping with the pain. Still a blur, she could see the binding of the ancient sketchbook had finally expired and pieces of paper drifted and flew around. Suddenly she felt her breath become caught in her lungs and her vision instantly cleared up. All around her, pages and pages of sketches were becoming soaked from the slippery tiles. When her head turned to the pool where many of pages had landed and floated on the surface her throat became even tighter and her innards seemed to freeze. Images suddenly flew by her eyes, a hand reaching upwards towards a cliff, sketches drifting in the water, and crashing of waves resounded inside her head.

"_Kaide!" _

Instantly Kaede shuffled away from the water as far as she could, shot up and sprinted for the doors of the lockers, stumbling several times as she went. Her whole body was moving by its self. Her eyes blinked and suddenly saw that she was dashing down the stairs of the school with a dizzying speed. Kaede blinked again and she was outside of the school, already flying past the school gates. She could hear her loud breathing as she ran with adrenaline filling her veins to the brim. All she could think of was getting as far as she could from that voice, from the drenched papers, from that horrid matter. _Run... run... run... run... run... _

* * *

"AH! Kaede-chan!" "Kaede!" They called after her as the black haired girl dashed into the change rooms, looking more pale and horrified than anything they've seen.

"I'll go chase after her!" Makoto shouted already on the girl's heels.

"Makoto-senpai be careful!" Gou called after him worried for the two as a series of rumbling steps was heard.

"What have I done...?" Nagisa whimpered slumping down on the cold tiles of the pool with eyes starting to water.

"Nagisa-kun it's ok, I'm sure that wasn't completely your fault." Rei comforted crouching down beside him brushing away some the boy's blond hair revealing a small bump forming on his forehead that was bound to develop into a painful bruise.

"I wonder what made her look so terrified like that... Did she hit her head too hard...?" Gou murmured, her red brows knitting together with worry.

"I'm not sure either... But for the time being let's save as much of the pages as we can." Rei suggested already gathering the ones closest to him, the other two nodded in agreement. Copying the rest Haru helped collecting the pages as well. Holding a few in his hand he studied the fading sketches.

_They're sketches of water, all of them... _

* * *

Crouched into a ball on a park bench, the burning inside Kaede lungs was starting to subside. Her breathing was still heavy but it was much better than it was when her little adrenaline rush had died off and deposited her on a park bench she was on now. Taking a 360 scan around her nothing was close to being familiar. _I must've run pretty far... crap...I don't think I even have my cell phone with me..._ She muttered herself glumly but that was hardly her top worries right now.

_They must be thinking I'm like some kind freak right now..._ A cloud of gloom hovered over Kaede as she put forehead on her knees. _How am I supposed to explain to them... making up is going to be impossible...!_

Sighing she lifted her head again and peered over to the direction of a basketball court that was close by. In there she could see there were two people facing off, both fairly tall in height. One had black and red hair while the other had dark green hair. Looking a bit more closely she could see a third person a lot shorter than the other two with light blue hair there as well.

_People sure dye their hair weird colors nowadays._ Kaede thought to herself observing their fluid movements as they played. The breeze was gentle against her face and the sound of a runner coming by could be heard along with tapping of the basketball on the cement of the court. She could hear footsteps and heavy breathing of the runner coming closer and closer and closer...? The sound of the steps was starting to annoy her ear like the buzzing of a fly. Kaede turned her head to origin of the noise but flinched to find the runner was right in front of her jogging lightly on the spot. The runner was pretty young, a high school student probably just like herself, and wore a black tracksuit. He had red hair like Gou's but a bit lighter and similar colored eyes to match it. Staring oddly at him, the boy looked down on her with a disgusted look and a raised brow.

"Haru... are you cross-dressing...?" Rin Matsuoka asked.

* * *

**Actually a bit excited to write the next chapter hahahaha  
**

**Been thinking about putting some Reigisa in. Good or bad idea? **

**Hmmm... **

**Anyways please do look forward to chap 6! Hopefully I'll get it up a lot quicker than this chapter... hehehe...^^lll**


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